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How to Digitize Childhood Memories Imprisoned in Film?


Photography has started to go digital about 30 years ago, so if you’re older than that, your relatives probably documented some of your childhood in film-based formats like slides or prints made from negatives. Or you have piles of old slides and negatives from long lost pictures in the attic or garage. although not as simple as scanning old photo printsDigitizing this film frees family history from outdated media and makes it easier to share restored memories. Here are a few ways to get the job done.

As with prints, you can “scan” a slide or negative by taking a photo of it with your smartphone or using one of the many slide/film scanning apps. For best results, make sure the original is dust-free and light the transparency evenly from behind. An inexpensive scan kit that provides a backlight as well as a place to rest your phone for more stable shooting is also an option.

Kodak’s Mobile Film Scanner kit ($40 or less) is an option. Works with the free Kodak Mobile Scanner app for Android or iOS. Place a slide or negative on the battery-powered LED backlight, then focus the phone’s camera on it from above and take a photo. Depending on your phone and its cameras, you may need to experiment with distance and focus to get clear images.

Credit…JD Biersdorfer

rybozen makes a similar smartphone movie scanner. Moreover make your own slide scanner Apart from common materials to capture images with your smartphone or independently macro lens camera for close-up focus. YouTube is home to several videos on the topic – just search for “DIY movie scanner” or similar to find a variety of guides from the DIY enthusiast.

Photomyne’s SlideScan Creative app ($40 for two years; free trial available) is another option. You hold the slide in front of a laptop displaying a plain white web page and take a photo of it; the software automatically enhances and crops the resulting image, or you can make manual adjustments. Photomyne separate Movie Box app does the same for negatives. FilmLab ($6 per month) is another smartphone scanning app with Windows and Mac versions.

Smartphone scanning has some disadvantages. You won’t get the highest quality results, and if you have a lot of images it can be tedious. But relatively cheap.

Smartphones can be multi-purpose devices, but using hardware designed for a specific task often yields better results. If you have transparencies to convert, invest in a compact film scanner (eg. wolverine or Kodak) can simplify and speed up the process for around $150; plustek makes high-end models.

A flatbed scanner that can also process film along with prints and documents is another option as below. Epson Perfection V600 (about $250 online). Wire cutter, The product review site owned by The New York Times is also browser suggestions.

If you already have a flatbed scanner for documents and photos, check your model’s manual to see if it can handle slides and film negatives, as some include this feature. If your scanner is not equipped to handle transparencies, you can make your own adapter from silver cardboard to diffuse the scanner’s light and brighten the image; do: magazine has a free template and instructions online like any other DIY site.

Also, make sure you scan images at a high enough resolution so that they look good at enlarged size and print; 3,200 pixels per inch is common.

If you don’t have the time, patience or equipment, send your photos to a media conversion company like below. Memories Refreshed, Scan My Photos or DigMyPics is another option. Most stores charge by slide – prices can start at around 21 cents each.

You get high quality images for your money. Some companies let you preview the results and even skip a certain number of dud shots in your collection. Your originals are returned after scanning and your digital copies are ready.

Slides and negatives can fade over time, especially if they are not stored properly. Many film scanning smartphone apps also include basic editing tools for adjusting color and cropping. And always Apple’s Photos and Google Photos Fast, free photo editing for mobile and desktop to make these pictures ready to share.

Credit…Google; Apple

All the time, effort, and (possibly) money spent digitizing old film brings another benefit besides easy-to-share photo files. You can store them in a safe place online as a backup, and as new archives if you decide to leave the originals during spring cleaning.



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